While there are many paper clips, clamps, and index tabs known in the prior art, they still suffer several drawbacks. A common paper clip formed of bent plastic or metal wire, is typically formed in a single plane and attached to one or more sheets of paper by bending a tongue portion upwardly and inserting the paper between the tongue and the remainder of the clip. Such a clip relies on the resiliency of the metal to apply a force to bend the sheet of paper between the tongue and the remainder of the clip, to hold the clip to the paper. However, such a clip can easily wrinkle or damage the paper because of the force applied by the tongue on the paper. Thus, the paper can become slightly folded between the tongue portion and the base portion, thereby damaging the paper. Furthermore, the metal type clips typically have a projecting end which can easily catch and rip the paper when the paper is fully inserted in the clip.
Index tabs utilized in the prior art typically have a pair of adhesive backed legs which are permanently affixed to an index card or a file. The tab having a transparent portion which allows the insertion of an inscription sheet. While such tabs are easy to use in a filing system, they are impossible to use in a situation which requires a removable tab.
Other file tabs utilize a clamp type action to grip a piece of paper. While such tabs have the advantage of being removable from the sheet, they typically utilize a pair of gripping legs with edges bent towards one another to form a type grip. These edges grip the paper firmly but require that the gripping leg portions be manually separated before they may be attached to a card.
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide an improved removable index tab.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a removable index tab which may be attached and locked in engagement with a sheet of paper.
Still another object is to provide a removable index tab which will not damage the paper sheets to which it is attached.
These and other objects will be apparent to one skilled in the art.